Climbing shoe with hooking rim

ABSTRACT

A climbing shoe includes an upper portion and an outer sole attached to the upper portion. The outer sole has an interior area, a raised exterior area, and a hooking rim. The hooking rim can hook on a rocky ledge. A climbing shoe also includes teeth attached to the hooking rim. The teeth can vary in shape. The teeth are often a saw-tooth shape or a rounded half-moon shape.

BACKGROUND

[0001] The invention relates to climbing shoes. More particularly, theinvention is relevant to a climbing shoe with a bottom surface thatassists the climber in maintaining a firm foothold on the rocks.

[0002] Traditional climbing shoes have generally flat surfaces on thebottom of the climbing shoe. With a flat surface, the edges of the toeare placed on little foot holds on the rocks. Just the placement andpressure of the flat bottom surface of the shoe on the rocks assists inmaintaining the foothold on the rocks. The climbing shoe needs greatstability, since the whole weight of the individual may be supported byjust the edges of the toe and the climber's hands. The climbing shoemust retain a solid hold on the rocks, when the climber stretches toreach the next foothold or handhold in the rocks. Climbing shoes withflat bottom surfaces can be prone to slipping and losing their grip onthe rocks.

[0003] There are walking shoes designed to flex when walking to absorbsome of the impact of the foot upon the walking surface. The curvatureof the outer sole does not remain rigid, and the inner portion of thebottom outer sole flexes to touch the walking surface during walking.The outer sole is thick, so sensitivity is lost. The climber cannotadequately sense and feel the foot holds, when the outer sole is thick.Additionally, walking shoes tend to have cleats or protrusionsthroughout the entire bottom surface to the walking shoe. The entirebottom surface of the walking shoe contacts the ground, so there is aneed for gripping protrusions or indentations throughout the entirebottom surface when walking.

[0004] This walking shoe design is most disadvantageous for climbing.Climbers tend to use just the outer portions of the bottom surface ofthe climbing shoe for gripping rocks and crevices. The hooking grip ofthe climbing shoe upon the small crevices can be lost if the bottomouter sole fails to remain substantially rigid. Very small projectionsin the rocks are used to hook the shoe of a climber. Just a small areaof the bottom outer sole may be supporting the climber's weight whenhooked on the rock. This exterior area of the outer sole is where thegripping capability is most important. Having protrusions upon theentire bottom surface, as in a walking shoe, only adds to the weight ofthe shoe without providing adequate gripping support where it is mostrequired.

[0005] In one walking shoe design, the sole tread pattern adapts to alltypes of ground due to its adjustable stud profile. As the foot pressesdown, the sole changes shape to grip the ground contours and on softground the studs penetrate the soil. The studs are randomly spacedaround the entire bottom surface of the walking shoe. As the weight istaken off the sole, it releases energy, giving wearers an added springto their step. The changing shape of the sole is advantageous forwalking, but can be detrimental in rock climbing.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need for a climbing shoe with a bottomsurface that has a gripping rim and protrusions or teeth shaped forhooking the shoe on a rock ledge. The new climbing shoe should have arow of teeth along the hooking rim that will provide greater tractionand grip when climbing rocks than the traditional walking shoes orclimbing shoes.

SUMMARY

[0007] A climbing shoe with teeth fulfills the objective of a climbingshoe with a bottom surface with a hooking rim that is shaped for hookingthe shoe on a rock ledge. The addition of teeth along the hooking rimprovides greater traction and grip when climbing rocks, which providesgreater safety and confidence for the climber.

[0008] The climbing shoe includes an upper portion and an outer soleattached to the upper portion. The outer sole has an interior area, araised exterior area, and a hooking rim. The interior area has athickness ‘t’ that is substantially uniform. The hooking rim can hook ona rocky ledge.

[0009] The hooking rim has a height ‘h’, which can vary. In oneembodiment the height ‘h’ is greater than about one thirty-second of aninch and the height ‘h’ is less than about one eight of an inch. In thisversion the height ‘h’ is about three-thirtysecond ({fraction (3/32)})of an inch.

[0010] A climbing shoe also includes teeth attached to the hooking rim.The teeth can vary in shape. The teeth are often a saw-tooth shape or arounded half-moon shape. The teeth have a length ‘L’. In one embodiment‘L’ is about one sixteenth of an inch The outer sole further includes afront section and a back section. The raised exterior area, the hookingrim, and the teeth are contained within the front section. The interiorarea extends to substantially cover the back section. The exterior areahas a width ‘w’. The width ‘w’ is about eleven-sixteenths of an inch.The hooking rim and teeth added to the bottom surface of the climbingshoe provide increased stability and grip while rock climbing.

[0011] The climbing shoe with a hooking rim and teeth is furtherdescribed with detail in the appended figures, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the climbing shoe showing the hookingrim.

[0013]FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the climbing shoe showing the hookingrim with saw-tooth teeth.

[0014]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the climbing shoe showing the hookingrim with half-moon shaped teeth.

[0015]FIG. 4 is a cutaway side view of the climbing shoe along the 4-4line as shown in FIG. 3.

[0016]FIG. 5 is a cutaway side view similar to FIG. 4, showing a concaveshape to the bottom surface of the interior area.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 5, a climbing shoe 10 includesan upper portion 12 and an outer sole 14 attached to the upper portion12. The outer sole has an interior area 16, a raised exterior area 18,and a hooking rim 20. The hooking rim 20 is created by the difference insurface height of the interior area 16 and the raised exterior area 18.The hooking rim 20 can hook on a rocky ledge. The interior area 16 issubstantially smooth and uniform in thickness. The interior area 16 hasa thickness ‘t’ that is about one-eight of an inch in one embodiment.The thickness ‘t’ is substantially uniform. The interior area 16 has abottom surface 32 that is substantially smooth. The bottom surface 32does not have any protrusions, studs, or sharp projections projections.The hooking rim 20 is the sole raised area or projection(s) with enoughheight ‘h’ to effectively hook on a rock. The exterior area 18 issubstantially uniform in thickness, with a lower surface 34 that is alsosubstantially smooth.

[0018] There is a thickness variation between the interior area 16 andthe raised exterior area 18, which creates the hooking rim 20. The outersole 14 is thin, particularly the interior area 16, which provides greatsensitivity by the climber when securing a foot grip on the rocks.

[0019] Referring to the cutaway view of FIG. 4, the hooking rim 20 has aheight ‘h’, which can vary. In one embodiment the height ‘h’ is greaterthan about one sixteenth of an inch and the height ‘h’ is less thanabout one eight of an inch. The height ‘h’ is about three-thirtysecond({fraction (3/32)}) of an inch in this embodiment. There should besufficient height ‘h’ to create some gripping effect by the hooking rim20 upon the rocks. The height ‘h’ can be greater than about one eight ofan inch. Although, as the height ‘h’ increases the distance between thebottom surface 32 of the interior area 16 and the lower surface 34 ofthe exterior area 18 also increases. If the height ‘h’ is significantthen it is more difficult for the climber to place a substantial portionof the climbing shoe 10 inside of a small hole or crevice for a toeholdgrip. The thickness ‘t’ is substantially uniform for the interior area16.

[0020] The climbing shoe 10 also includes teeth 22 attached to thehooking rim 20. The teeth 22 can vary in shape. The teeth 22 are often asaw-tooth shape 24 as shown in FIG. 2 or a rounded half-moon shape 26 asshown in FIG. 3. The teeth 22 have a length ‘L’. In one embodiment ‘L’is about one sixteenth of an inch. There are about eight teeth 22 perlinear inch along the hooking rim 20 in FIG. 3. There are about twelveteeth 22 per linear inch along the hooking rim 20 in FIG. 2.

[0021] The outer sole 14 further includes a front section 28 and a backsection 30. The raised exterior area 18, the hooking rim 20, and theteeth 22 are contained within the front section 28. A portion of theinterior area 16 is also contained within the front section 28. Theinterior area 16 extends to substantially cover the back section 30.Climbers predominantly use the front section 28 of the shoe for grippingwhen climbing. The front section 28 is where the hooking rim 20 andteeth 22 should be concentrated. A hooking rim 20 and teeth 22 on theback section 30 are not essential. The exterior area 18 has a width ‘w’.The width ‘w’ is between about 0.5 inches and about 1.0 inches. Thewidth ‘w’ is about eleven-sixteenths ({fraction (11/16)}) of an inch inthis embodiment. The width ‘w’ can vary smaller or larger based on theclimber's body size and preferences. The raised exterior area 18 issubstantially U-shaped. The exterior area 18 is located adjacent to theedge 36 of the outer sole 14. The raised exterior area 18 and theassociated hooking rim 20 can be continuous or the raised exterior area18 can be broken into multiple sections. FIG. 3 illustrates the raisedexterior area 18 broken into segments. A portion of the interior area 16is located between the segments of the raised exterior area 18.

[0022] The outer sole 14 can be made primarily from a rubber polymer.The upper portion 12 can include any material commonly used for shoes,such as leather, nylon and cotton fabric. The interior area 16 has abouta uniform thickness ‘t’.

[0023] The edges of the outer sole 14 should be thin enough to feel thefoothold. Thin edges on the outer sole 14 provide stability, in contrastto the thick edges of the prior art walking shoes that are prone toslipping on the rocks. The teeth 22 and hooking rim 20 provide addededging power for standing on small footholds, because the hooking rim 20and teeth 22 will grab the foothold and will not move around to allow aslip from the foothold.

[0024] Referring to FIG. 5, the interior area 16 is illustrated with aslightly concave shape. The thickness ‘t’ remains substantially uniform.The concave shape of the interior area 16 does not have any sharpprojections or sharp edges like the hooking rim 20 has. The concaveshape of the interior area 16 provides a smoothed indentation thatprovides some assistance to the climber for gripping the rocks.

[0025] The hooking rim 20 and teeth 22 on the outer sole 14 of theclimbing shoe 10 provides improved gripping ability for the climber. Theclimbing shoe 10 with a hooking rim 20 provides added gripping ability,besides just the pressure of the climbing shoe 10 applied downward onthe rocks. The hooking rim 20 and the teeth 22 can improve theconfidence, climbing ability and safety of the climber.

[0026] Although the present invention has been described in considerabledetail with regard to the preferred versions thereof, other versions arepossible. Therefore, the appended claims should not be limited to thedescriptions of the preferred versions contained herein.

1. A climbing shoe comprising: a) an upper portion; and b) an outer soleattached to the upper portion, the outer sole having an interior area, araised exterior area, and a hooking rim, wherein the interior areahaving a thickness ‘t’ and a bottom surface, wherein the thickness ‘t’is substantially uniform, and wherein the bottom surface issubstantially smooth; whereby the hooking rim can hook on a rocky ledge.2. The climbing shoe of claim 1, wherein the hooking rim further havinga height ‘h’, wherein the height ‘h’ is greater than about one sixteenthof an inch.
 3. The climbing shoe of claim 2, wherein the thickness ‘t’is about one-eight of an inch.
 4. The climbing shoe of claim 3, whereinthe raised exterior area is continuous.
 5. The climbing shoe of claim 4,further comprising teeth attached to the hooking rim.
 6. The climbingshoe of claim 5, wherein the teeth are a saw-tooth shape.
 7. Theclimbing shoe of claim 6, wherein the teeth have a length ‘L’, wherein‘L’ is about one sixteenth of an inch.
 8. The climbing shoe of claim 7,wherein the outer sole further comprising a front section and a backsection, wherein the raised exterior area, the hooking rim, and theteeth are contained within the front section, wherein the interior areaextends to substantially cover the back section.
 9. The climbing shoe ofclaim 8, wherein the interior area is slightly concave in shape.
 10. Theclimbing shoe of claim 9, wherein the exterior area having a width ‘w’,wherein the width ‘w’ is between about 0.5 inches and about 1.0 inches.11. The climbing shoe of claim 10, wherein the exterior area issubstantially U-shaped.
 12. A climbing shoe comprising: a) an upperportion; and b) an outer sole attached to the upper portion, the outersole having an interior area, a raised exterior area, and a hooking rim,wherein the interior area having a thickness ‘t’, wherein the thickness‘t’ is substantially uniform, wherein the exterior area is substantiallyU-shaped; whereby the hooking rim can hook on a rocky ledge.
 13. Theclimbing shoe of claim 12, further comprising teeth attached to thehooking rim.
 14. The climbing shoe of claim 13, wherein the outer solefurther comprising a front section and a back section, wherein theraised exterior area, the hooking rim, and the teeth are containedwithin the front section, wherein the interior area extends tosubstantially cover the back section.
 15. The climbing shoe of claim 14,wherein the raised exterior area is continuous.
 16. The climbing shoe ofclaim 15, wherein the exterior area having a width ‘w’, wherein thewidth ‘w’ is between about 0.5 inches and about 1.0 inches.
 17. Theclimbing shoe of claim 16, wherein the thickness ‘t’ is about one-eightof an inch.
 18. The climbing shoe of claim 17, wherein the teeth are arounded half-moon shape.